Letter plate for doors and mail boxes



Jan. 8 1924. 1,480,288

G. D. MUiRAY LETTER PLATE FOR DOO S AND MAIL BOXES Filed July 21, 1920 [/2 0672 far,

Gawya J Mar/a].

Patented Jan. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES GEORGE D. MURRAY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

LETTER PLATE FOR DOORS AND MAIL BOXES.

Application filed July 21, 1920. Serial No. 897,977.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoncn D. MURRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter Plates for Doors and Mail Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a letter plate for the doors of dwelling houses, and other buildings, or for letter-boxes, and has for its object to provide a letter-box plate to be applied to the opening in a door and is provided with adjustable means for contact with the flap of the plate for closing an electric circuit for sounding an electric alarm when passing mail through the mail opening of the letter-box plate.

A further object of the invention is the provision of adjustable means carried by the letter-box plate for engaging the wall of a lettenbox to assist in retaining the letter-box in contact with the inner face of the door.

\Vith the above and other objects in View,

.' the invention consists in the novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and finally pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this spccicification wherein like characters of reference denote similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1, is a front elevation of the letterbox plate applied to a door.

Fig. 2, is a sectional View taken on line 22 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3, is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character 1 indicates a door provided with an opening or passage 2, as shown in Fig. 3.

3 indicates a suitable door plate having a letter passage, or opening 4. The plate 3 is secured to the outer face of the door by means of a plurality of fastening devices 5, such as screws. A suitable flap plate 6 is hingedly connected at its upper edge, as at 7, to lie in contact with the inner face of the door plate 3 and serve as a closure for the door plate opening 4 and the letter opening 2 in the door 1.

The door plate 3 is provided with a pair of opposed, rearwardly extending supporting members 8. These members may be cast integral with the plate 3, or fixed at their forward ends to the rear face of the plate 3 by means of suitable fastening devices 8', such as screws, rivets, or the like.

Extending rearward from each supporting member 8 are a pair of opposed arms 9 spaced apart to provide a slotted opening 10. An arm 11 is receivable in each slotted passage 10 and held in its adjusted position by means of a suitable set-screw 12. The inner end of each arm 11 is bent outwardly, as at 13 and the inner face thereof engages the inner wall 14; of a suitable mail box 15. A suitable fastening devicesuch as a screw 16 passes through the arms 13 and the wall 1 1- of the mail box and enters the door 1 for securing the mail box in position to the rear face of the door. as clearly shown in Fi 2 and 3. The L-shaped arms 11, it Wlll be observed, are longitudinally adjustable in the slotted openings 10 of the supporting members, so as to permit them to be lengthened or shortened to accommodate a thick or thin door 1, as is manifest. lVhere no mail box is employed, the ends 13 of arms 11 may be secured to the inner face of the door and a suitable guard plate may be secured to the door to conceal the opening 2 of the door from the inside of the room.

Each supporting member 8 is further provided with a conductor arm 17 having an upward extension 18 terminating in a let oral extension 19 which is provided at its extremity with a spherical head 20 positioned in the path of travel of the hinged flap plate 6. Each arm 17 is receivable in a longitudinal opening 21 in each member 8 and is held in its adjusted position by means of a set-screw 22 provided with a nut 23. The arms 17 are longitudinally adjustable to limit the opening movement of the hinged flap plate 6, as is manifest. The rear face. of the flap plate 6 is provided with an electric conducting strip 24: adapted for contact with the spherical heads of the arms 17 when the flap is moved inwardly into the opening 2 of the door 1, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

25 indicates a suitable battery having the terminal posts 26 and 27 and conveniently positioned in the mail box 15. 28 indicates a suitable electric bell having the terminal posts 29 and 30.

31 indicates a conductor fixed at one end to the set-screw 21 of one of the supporting members 8, which set-screw has contact at its inner end with the arm conductor 17. The opposite end of the conductor 31 is connected to the terminal post 26 o"? the battcry.

32 indicates a conductor hired at one end to the set-screw 21 of the opposite supporting member 8, which set-screw has contact at its inner end with the conductor arm 17. The opposite end of the conductor 32 is connected with the terminal post 29 of the hell 28. 33 indicates a conductor connecting the terminal post 2'? ct the battery with the terminal post of the bell. 28.

The operation of the device is follows:

When a letter is to be deposited. in the mail box 15, or passed through the letter opening 2 of the door 1, ii no letter-box is employed, it will be observed, that the flap plate 6 must be raised to permit the passage of the letter through the letter opening e of the plate 3 and opening 2 in the door 1. Now, it will be seen that when the flap late has been raised to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, that the conductor strip 24 thereof will contact with the spheri cal ends 20 of the conductor arms 17 thereby completely closing the electric circuit and causing the bell to ring thereby sounding an audible alarm signal that mail has been introduced through the letter openings of the plate and door and deposited in the letter box 15, where a letter be is used. If no letter box 1? is employed, the letters will, of course, dlbp on the floor below within the room.

From the foregoing description, it will be observed that the alarm will only be sound ed whenever the flap plate 6 is moved into contact with the heads of the conductor arms 17.

It is manifest that in flats and residences and other buildings where there is an electric bell circuit that the conductors 30 and 31 may be connected to the bell circuit, thus obviating the necessity of the battery and bell in the mail-box 15, and in such instances the letter box 15 may be dispensed with, if so desired.

The many advantages of the, hereindescribed invention will adily so st themselves to those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

l do not wish to be understood as having limited myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, but desire to have it understood that the invention 1 have shown in the drawings is merely illustrativ as it i manifest that various minor changes may be made in the form, shape and particular arrangements of parts witl'iout departing from the spirit of my invention, hence I reserve the right to make any such changes or modifications as may fairly tall wit iin the scope of the appended claim when fairly construed.

What I claim is:

In a mail alarm structure, a mail box, a plate having a hinged mail slot flap tired to a door. having a slot therein, bride; conductor fixed to the rear face of the an and extending from end to end thereof, a socket member fixed at its forward end to the flap plate adjacent the end of the flap, a pair of conductors directed rearwardly therefrom and provided with an upwardly and inwardly directed arm provided with a spherical contact head, means for longitmiinally and rotatably adjusting said conductor arms with relation to its respective socket memher and the flap conductor strip, a bifurcated arm integral with each so ket member and directed rearwardly therefrom, pair of shaped supporting arms fixed their rear ends to the mail box and adjustably lined at their forward ends to the bifurcated arms of the socket member for adjustably sup porting the mail box with relation to the inner face of the door, said flap conductor strip when raised to contact withthe spherical heads of the conductor arms.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to the specification.

GEORGE D, MURRAY. 

